{"id":129,"date":"2015-05-26T20:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T20:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=129"},"modified":"2015-09-25T18:09:25","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T18:09:25","slug":"neil-diamond-toyota-center-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/26\/neil-diamond-toyota-center-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Diamond – Toyota Center – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Dave Clements <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Image\"It was just another ho hum long holiday weekend in the life of this roaming photographer in Houston, TX.\u00a0\u00a0 Beginning with Friday night, I had the opportunity to experience a performance by one of the favorite artists ever, Keb’ Mo’.\u00a0 I last saw him when he opened for Bonnie Raitt at the Bayou Music Center several years ago.\u00a0 I was blown away by his soulful talent and he very nearly stole the show.\u00a0 As impressive as he was then, he was even better at Friday night’s show at Dosey Doe’s Big Barn venue.<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0I was asked to shoot the international comic convention known as Comicpalooza over the weekend.\u00a0 So I headed to the George R. Brown Convention Center on Saturday to witness the madness.\u00a0 Didn’t know what to expect and am hard pressed to adequately describe it.\u00a0 Some crazy fun is as close as I can get.\u00a0 It’s more than just comic books, it’s comics, sci-fi and fantasy characters in costumes, gaming, film, and more.\u00a0 Lots going on and enjoyable to photograph!<\/p>\n

Then Memorial Day Monday night the Houston Rockets and the unforgiving weather made it even more memorable!\u00a0 Down three games to zip in their playoff series, the Rockets pulled off a brilliant home town win against Oakland in the Toyota Center.\u00a0 While they were accomplishing this feat a massive storm was dumping too much water on the downtown streets.\u00a0 The home team fans at Toyota had to shelter in place, many until early Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

And they left just before it was time for Neil Diamond’s crew to load in to Toyota Center for the Houston stop of his tour.\u00a0 This is really where this review should begin.\u00a0 But the aforementioned should help explain why Neil Diamond\u00a0almost didn’t make his own show.\u00a0 He was traveling by air into that same stormy weather.\u00a0 And the weather also explains why there were more empty seats than you would expect.\u00a0 This music icon, who hadn’t been to Houston in a number of years, should have been the highlight for many fans of this entertainment packed weekend.<\/p>\n

But all’s well that ends well.\u00a0 At 8:29 pm Tuesday night Neil Diamond took the stage at Toyota Center and gave a terrific performance.\u00a0 What may have been lacking in numbers in the audience, he more than made up for on stage.\u00a0 He did not come alone!\u00a0 He had a horn sections, lot of guitars and players, keyboards, drummers, synthesizers, and backup singers.\u00a0 Welcome to the party!<\/p>\n

Neil began the set with I’m a Believer (also made popular by The Monkees) , then went right into Love on the Rocks and Hello Again.\u00a0 He got to all of my favorites.\u00a0 One of those was Play Me about half way through the set.\u00a0 Beautiful classic lyrics “you are the sun, I am the moon, you are the words, I am the tune, play me.’\u00a0\u00a0 Good stuff!\u00a0 But best yet, the last song before the encore, I Am…I Said.\u00a0 Passionate singing that is uniquely Neil Diamond’s style.\u00a0 Perfect.<\/p>\n

He also played a new song called The Art of Love for his new album Melody Road.\u00a0 In his introduction Neil said, \u2018’Five years to write, three minutes to sing”.\u00a0 A lament I’m sure many songwriters share.\u00a0\u00a0 I liked the song, especially with lyrics like \u2018love’s not what you have, but what you give’.\u00a0\u00a0 Reminds me of that great Clint Black song \u2018Something That We Do’.\u00a0 (If you’re not familiar with it, check it out.)<\/p>\n

\"Image\"Neil Diamond was a class act and catered to ALL of his fans.\u00a0 He took time out to sing to people seated in the side sections.\u00a0 I appreciated this personally since I was seated there as well.\u00a0 I also like that he joked about his age.\u00a0 His comment was ‘I like it (audience) when you are over active….it makes me feel 70 again.’\u00a0\u00a0 Just so you know, I would not have ever guessed he was 74.\u00a0 His voice was so strong and his movements on stage energetic.\u00a0 He’s well on his way to being just like Tony Bennett who, at 89, is astonishingly ageless.<\/p>\n

The only disappointment of the evening for me was the very lengthy band member introductions.\u00a0 This occurred a few songs before the end of the set during Cherry, Cherry.\u00a0\u00a0 Guess it was a gracious thing for Mr. Diamond to do, but with over a dozen players it was definitely detracted from the entertainment!<\/p>\n

There was a generous five song encore.\u00a0 The highlight, I think most fans would agree, was Sweet Caroline.\u00a0 Already a favorite sing along tune for many, it gained even more recognition after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.\u00a0 It had for years been an 8th inning ritual of the Boston Red Sox games in Fenway Park.\u00a0 After the bombings, it was played at multiple sporting events across the country as an honor and remembrance of those who suffered during that horrible event.<\/p>\n

Much thanks to Mr. Neil Diamond for topping off a most memorable Memorial Day weekend with an excellent show.<\/p>\n

Until next time remember there is no time to kill.<\/p>\n

dwc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Dave Clements It was just another ho hum long holiday weekend in the life of this roaming photographer in Houston, TX.\u00a0\u00a0 Beginning with Friday night, I had the opportunity to experience a performance by one of the favorite artists ever, Keb’ Mo’.\u00a0 I last saw him when he opened for Bonnie Raitt at… <\/p>\n

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